Scotland's water is dearer and dirtier than England's

SCOTTISH Water provides the worst, least efficient and costliest service in Britain, according to a damning report released yesterday.

The publicly-owned authority performed worse than the 22 privately-owned water companies in England and Wales on almost every indicator, according to the industry watchdog, Ofwat.

Water quality was found to be particularly bad, with substandard samples found ten times as often in Scottish supplies, reservoirs and treatment works compared with England and Wales.

On measures of bacteria - coliforms - the Scottish figures were twice as high as in England, and Scotland also performed poorly on water colour, the presence of lead and level of sediment in the water.

Ofwat compared the performance of water companies from all over the world from the latest figures available, from 2004-5, and although Scottish Water did relatively well against foreign counterparts, it suffered against English and Welsh companies.

Scottish Water insisted last night that the report was "significantly out of date" and that improvements had been made since 2004-5. A spokesman acknowledged that there was a "gap" between Scotland and England, but added: "We are not so far behind we can't catch up."

The spokesman insisted that not only was water quality in Scotland improving every year, but the level of coliforms or other elements in the water was well within acceptable limits.

According to the report, average bills are about 30 a year higher in Scotland than in England and Wales; Scottish households are more likely to suffer from low water pressure; sewers are more likely to be overloaded in Scotland; and Scottish Water's service performance is worse than its southern counterparts.

Researchers also found Scottish Water's leakage rate was worse than south of the Border and the cost of delivering water was higher in Scotland.

There was a small number of positives for Scottish Water in the Ofwat international comparisons report for 2007. The watchdog said there were fewer burst pipes in Scotland and that Scottish Water bills would rise more slowly than those in England and Wales for the next couple of years. The regulator also reported that customer satisfaction in Scotland was rising. But these few good points were outnumbered by the negatives.

"Scotland, like most countries, has improved its performance since 2001 but still lags behind the rest of the UK," the report stated. On efficiency, it said: "Water and sewerage companies in England appear more cost-efficient."

• The Church of Scotland yesterday issued a "dire warning" over Scottish Executive plans to end the exemption from water charges for churches and charitable groups after 2010. "It is impossible to exaggerate the potentially negative impact that these plans could have on congregational finances," it said.